Autism and Developmental Language Impairments最新文献

{"title":"Investigating Morphosyntactic Patterns and Phonological Memory in Children With ASD and DLD.","authors":"Yehudit Baranes, Osnat Segal","doi":"10.1177/23969415261418495","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/23969415261418495","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>This study explored the morphosyntactic characteristics of Hebrew-speaking children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and developmental language disorder (DLD) as well as the associations between morphosyntactic skills and phonological memory.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Eighty Hebrew-speaking preschool children aged 5-to-6 years were assessed. All participants had nonverbal intelligence within average range IQ > 85. Language abilities were assessed using the Hebrew Goralnik test, which evaluates naming, articulation, comprehension, sentence imitation, expressive language, and storytelling skills. Morphosyntactic skills were assessed using the Katzenberger Hebrew Language Assessment test (KHLA). This test assessed the following language skills: (a) inflecting verbs for the past and future tense; (b) using the same verb in two verb-derivation patterns; (c) inflecting plural forms with changing stems and/or irregular suffixes; (d) deriving singular forms from nouns with irregular plural suffixes; (e) inflecting the plural adjectives of irregular inflected nouns; and (f) deriving consequential adjectives from a verb. In addition, phonological memory for nonsense words and syllables was assessed using the Shatil test.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Typically developing (TD) children achieved the highest KHLA and Shatil scores. One-way ANCOVAs controlling for nonverbal intelligence revealed significant group differences. Pairwise comparisons demonstrated that TD outperformed ASD-Language- normal (ASD-LN), ASD-Language-Impaired (ASD-LI), and DLD on the KHLA and phonological memory tasks. Associations were found between KHLA and Shatil scores in ASD-LI and DLD, suggesting that morphosyntactic skills are linked to phonological memory in these groups. Hierarchical regression analysis across all groups (n = 80) revealed that phonological memory contributes an additional 11% to the variance of morphosyntactic skills (KHLA) beyond the effects of language abilities.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>These results highlight differences in morphosyntactic skills among subgroups of children with TD, ASD-LN, ASD-LI, and DLD that are associated with difficulties in phonological memory, especially in children with ASD-LI and DLD.</p>","PeriodicalId":36716,"journal":{"name":"Autism and Developmental Language Impairments","volume":"11 ","pages":"23969415261418495"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13473796/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148763145","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Expressive Language Development in an Autistic Bimodal Bilingual Child: A 10-Year Case Study.","authors":"Aaron Shield, Kristina Cardamone","doi":"10.1177/23969415261416775","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/23969415261416775","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and aims: </strong>Children of Deaf adults (codas) acquire both a spoken language and a signed language from birth, making them bimodal bilinguals. While the language development of typically developing codas has been well studied, little is known about bimodal bilingual development in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study presents the first longitudinal case study of expressive spoken and signed language in an autistic bimodal bilingual child, spanning ten years of development. The participant, a hearing child with Deaf parents, was exposed to both English and American Sign Language (ASL) from birth. Expressive language samples were analyzed at ages 4;11, 6;6, 9;11, and 14;11 for syntactic complexity, lexical diversity, modality use, and echolalia.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Results revealed a significant expressive language delay in both modalities, with no consistent advantage of one modality over the other. Despite lifelong exposure to ASL, the child exhibited similarly limited language development in both English and ASL, challenging assumptions that signed language may be inherently more accessible for autistic individuals. Although there were global delays in expressive language in both modalities, there was evidence of pragmatic strengths and sensitivity to the linguistic preferences of his conversation partners. Unique features of bimodal bilingualism in autism, including code-blending, whispering, and cross-modal echolalia, are described.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These findings highlight the need for further research into the developmental trajectories and communicative strategies of autistic bimodal bilingual children.</p>","PeriodicalId":36716,"journal":{"name":"Autism and Developmental Language Impairments","volume":"11 ","pages":"23969415261416775"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12831883/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146054106","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Minimally-Signing Autism in Deaf Children of Deaf Parents: A Case Series.","authors":"Aaron Shield, Greta Parnes, Karen Chenausky","doi":"10.1177/23969415261416767","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23969415261416767","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Minimally-verbal autism is well described in hearing populations, but little is known about minimally-signing autism in deaf children with early, full access to sign. This case series presents seven deaf autistic children born to Deaf parents and exposed to American Sign Language (ASL) from birth who nonetheless remain minimally expressive signers. Participants were drawn from a nationwide cohort of 23 native-ASL deaf children with autism. Four children completed the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2 (ADOS-2); all caregivers completed the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ). Selected children also received the Test of Nonverbal Intelligence-4 (TONI-4) and the ASL Receptive Skills Test (ASL RST). Six of seven children scored above the SCQ cutoff, and all four ADOS-2 cases met diagnostic criteria. Across cases, hallmark autistic features were evident, including limited reciprocal interaction, reduced joint attention, and restricted/repetitive behaviors. Expressive signing ranged from absent to small repertoires of echolalic or idiosyncratic signs, rarely coordinated with gaze or affect; symbolic play was similarly constrained. Two children completed standardized testing: one showed average nonverbal cognition but ASL comprehension <3 years; the other showed below-average nonverbal cognition and minimal ASL comprehension. These findings demonstrate that minimally expressive autism occurs in Deaf children with full access to a natural signed language, ruling out language deprivation or auditory processing as necessary explanations. Instead, domain-general constraints (limited generativity, social-pragmatic integration, and sensorimotor planning) likely contribute across modalities. Documenting minimally signing autism underscores the need for modality-sensitive diagnostic tools, neurodiversity-affirming supports, and longitudinal research to better understand and serve this underserved group.</p>","PeriodicalId":36716,"journal":{"name":"Autism and Developmental Language Impairments","volume":"11 ","pages":"23969415261416767"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12824128/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146054096","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Is the Kent-Rosanoff Word Association Task Helpful in Characterizing Language Difficulties in 6- to 9-Year-Old Children with Autism?","authors":"Carmela Miniscalco, Jakob Åsberg Johnels, Emilia Carlsson","doi":"10.1177/23969415261416776","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23969415261416776","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and aims: </strong>Previous research has suggested that a word association task called the Kent-Rosanoff task, which measures syntagmatic and paradigmatic associations, can help detect language disorder (LD) in children. We aimed to investigate the performance pattern between the results of the Kent-Rosanoff word association task and other language measures in two groups of children with autism: (1) children with autism and language disorder (ALD) and (2) children with autism and average language ability (ALN).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Forty-six children aged 6 to 9 years (9 girls, 37 boys) with autism participated in a comprehensive language assessment that focused on receptive vocabulary, receptive grammar and sentence repetition, and nonverbal cognitive ability. The children with autism were divided into two subgroups, namely ALD and ALN, based on language ability while the groups did not differ in nonverbal cognitive ability. The 50-item Kent-Rosanoff list was used to elicit word associations. The children's responses were categorized into four different categories: phonological, syntagmatic, paradigmatic, and other/no response.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Our results did not reveal any differences between children with ALN and ALD on the Kent-Rosanoff word association task. The most frequent category coded for both groups was paradigmatic responses.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Children with ALD did not differ in their semantic associations when compared with the ALN group; thus, sources of diversity in language profiles in preschoolers with autism should perhaps be sought elsewhere or by using alternative measures.</p><p><strong>Implications: </strong>Our results show that the Kent-Rosanoff word association task did not distinguish between ALN and ALD. Future studies should continue exploring sensitive assessment formats of semantic depth in young children with or without LD and autism.</p>","PeriodicalId":36716,"journal":{"name":"Autism and Developmental Language Impairments","volume":"11 ","pages":"23969415261416776"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12819977/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146031032","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Autism-ness Does Not Exist, but Autism Does. Part 1: A Critic of the \"Spectrum\" Position Used to Describe, Diagnose, and Research Autism, and Its Alternative.","authors":"Laurent Mottron, Olivier Lafrance McGuire, David Gagnon","doi":"10.1177/23969415251404764","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23969415251404764","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This article presents the historical roots of the dimensional perspective on autism, the epistemological and clinical critics of its assumptions and effects, and offers an alternative to it. Autism is increasingly being described as the \"extreme far end\" of a spectrum of traits distributed continuously and heterogeneously throughout the general population, and various comorbid neurodevelopmental conditions. This dimensional perspective, initially a response to the excesses of nominalism in the DSM, creates its own heuristic and clinical dead ends. In contrast with this dimensional paradigm, clinical experts recognize and diagnose prototypical autism based on the high similarity of specific clinical signs that are present during the preschool period. We propose viewing autism as a universal and evolutionarily stable, quasi-categorical possibility of human development, offering a prototypical presentation within a certain age range. We argue that prototypical autism needs to be further clinically described and scientifically investigated before anticipating the inclusion of nonprototypical presentations in an informative \"autism spectrum.\" To achieve this, instruments based on qualitatively defined signs, with weighted diagnostic value, and universally associated with clinical certainty, must be developed. In the meantime, we recommend that all clinicians suspend the use of DSM-5 clinical specifiers to focus on clinical certainty and the application of differential diagnoses, rather than on the diagnostic thresholds of DSM-5 and of standardized instruments.</p>","PeriodicalId":36716,"journal":{"name":"Autism and Developmental Language Impairments","volume":"10 ","pages":"23969415251404764"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12678725/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145702250","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Development of Mental State Verb Use Among Autistic Children.","authors":"Inbal Eilon, Rama Novogrodsky","doi":"10.1177/23969415251389127","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23969415251389127","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background & aims: </strong>Mental state verbs (MSVs) describe people's internal states and processes. Reports on the use of MSVs in school-age children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are contradictory, and little is known about the developmental trajectories of these verbs in this population during early childhood. In contrast, among young, typically developing (TD) children, research has shown that the use of desire, perception, and physiological verbs precedes the use of cognitive and emotion verbs. This study aimed to describe the development of MSV use among autistic children as compared to TD children and investigate the variables that influence this development.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 118 children participated in the study (59 autistic and 59 TD children), aged 3-10 years. Parents of all children completed an MSV questionnaire indicating whether their child produced the MSVs included in it. Additionally, two variables influencing MSV use were examined: sentence repetition for estimating syntax and measures of theory of mind (TOM) ability, which included three tasks: diverse desires and first- and second-order false belief.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>According to the parental questionnaire, cognitive and emotion verbs have a more protracted developmental trajectory in both autistic and TD children than other MSV categories (desire, perception, and physiological verbs), and they are more challenging for autistic children than for TD children. Cognitive and emotion verbs are also less common in preschoolers' speech than in that of school-aged children. In addition, language abilities, TOM, and group (autistic vs. TD) explained the variance in the development of cognitive and emotion verb use beyond age.</p><p><strong>Conclusions and implications: </strong>These findings demonstrate the development of MSVs from all five semantic categories from the age of three years to the age of ten in autistic children. In addition, our results indicate a specific linguistic difference between autistic and TD children in the development of cognitive and emotion verbs, as was found in the MSV parental questionnaire. The study also highlights the role of syntax, TOM, and autism in relation to the development of these verbs, supporting the notion of complex developmental conditions associated with MSV development and, thus, the need to evaluate them in autistic children.</p>","PeriodicalId":36716,"journal":{"name":"Autism and Developmental Language Impairments","volume":"10 ","pages":"23969415251389127"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12583844/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145453526","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Systematic Research Review on Teachers' Self-Efficacy in Educating Autistic Students.","authors":"Linda Petersson-Bloom, Erika Hansson","doi":"10.1177/23969415251392318","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23969415251392318","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and aim: </strong>Ensuring equitable education for all students, including those with autism, is a core international commitment. The OECD (2018) defines equitable education as providing equal learning opportunities through responsive support tailored to individual needs. From this perspective, inclusive education involves both rights-based and needs-based approaches and emphasizes the importance of quality and adaptability in educational provision. Teachers' self-efficacy-their perceived confidence and belief in their ability to teach and support autistic students-is a critical factor in achieving these aims. However, despite growing commitments to inclusion, challenges are frequently reported not only by teachers, but also by parents and autistic students, including feelings of exclusion, misunderstanding, and inadequate support within educational settings. This review aims to synthesize existing research on teachers' self-efficacy in educating autistic students, identify influencing factors, assess methodological approaches, and outline future directions.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A mixed-methods systematic review was conducted using a convergent integrated design. Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods studies were synthesized. Searches were carried out in four databases: PsycInfo, ERIC, Education Source, and SCOPUS. Study quality was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT; Hong et al., 2018), and the review followed PRISMA guidelines.</p><p><strong>Main contribution: </strong>Fifty-seven studies were included. Findings indicate that although many teachers are willing to support autistic students, their self-efficacy is often undermined by limited professional development, structural barriers, and insufficient support. Key facilitators include sustained, practice-oriented professional development and supportive leadership. However, the predominance of self-report methods limits understanding of how self-efficacy translates into classroom practice.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Teacher self-efficacy is shaped by both systemic conditions and individual perceptions of the ability to meet diverse student needs. Strengthening self-efficacy is essential to advancing equitable education for autistic students.</p>","PeriodicalId":36716,"journal":{"name":"Autism and Developmental Language Impairments","volume":"10 ","pages":"23969415251392318"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-10-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12576102/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145432468","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Caregiver Language Input in Different Engagement States During Play Interactions With Toddlers With Autism: An Observational Study.","authors":"Yijie Li, Shaoli Lv, Linru Liu, Leran Xue, Huishi Huang, Yu Xing, Qianying Ye, Feixia Zhang, Hongzhu Deng","doi":"10.1177/23969415251389128","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23969415251389128","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Caregiver language input is a key component of children's early developmental environment, with its nature likely varying based on certain characteristics. This study explored how caregiver language input differed across different engagement states for 12-24-month-old toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; <i>n</i> = 39) or typically developing (TD) toddlers (<i>n</i> = 31) based on their ages and spoken language during the interaction in Chinese contexts. Caregiver language was analyzed during 10-min naturalistic dyadic play interactions, including the mean length of utterances, total frequency of input, functional features (include affect-salient speech, directives, questions, labeling, descriptions, and attention getters), and the integrated proportion of utterances and gestures. Toddlers' spoken language during the interaction and ages were also assessed. Caregivers of toddlers with ASD employed fewer questions and more attention-getters compared to those of TD toddlers. Caregivers adjusted language input based on toddlers' engagement states and ages but not spoken language during the interaction. These findings indicate that Chinese caregiver language input is dynamic and context sensitive. The behavioral characteristics of Chinese toddlers with ASD might shape the unique characteristics of such input.</p>","PeriodicalId":36716,"journal":{"name":"Autism and Developmental Language Impairments","volume":"10 ","pages":"23969415251389128"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12536155/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145348970","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"\"I Just Feel Like the Teacher Understood Me, and She Knew What I Needed\": School Experiences of Autistic Students from Diverse Backgrounds.","authors":"Jodie Smith, Aspasia Stacey Rabba, Georgia Coverdale, Poulomee Datta, Gabrielle Hall, Melanie Heyworth, Kristelle Hudry, Wenn Lawson, Rozanna Lilley, Elizabeth Pellicano","doi":"10.1177/23969415251377973","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23969415251377973","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Background and aims: &lt;/strong&gt;Gathering Autistic young people's testimony is critical for understanding their lived experience of education and designing settings in which these students can thrive. Despite increasing knowledge in this field, we lack perspectives from a broad range of Autistic students which necessarily limits our ability to build inclusive, supportive environments for all. This study explored the educational experiences of preschool and school-aged Autistic students from diverse age groups, backgrounds, and educational settings.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Methods: &lt;/strong&gt;Thirty-six Autistic students (aged 4-18 years) from Chinese, Vietnamese, Somali, Lebanese, and White Australian backgrounds shared their thoughts and experiences of their education. Through semi-structured interviews, students told their stories using words and pictures. Interview transcripts were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results: &lt;/strong&gt;Students described experiencing significant overwhelm within education settings, which led them to value access to safe spaces and having autonomy over decisions in their school day. A strong sense of fairness and justice was reported with students frustrated by inequitable application of school rules, as well as being discouraged by educators' low expectations of them. Students preferred teachers who were clear and direct in their communication and genuinely cared about them as individuals. Students were mindful of others' differences and perspectives, striving for mutual respect and friendship with their peers.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusions: &lt;/strong&gt;Findings from this research indicate that to thrive academically, emotionally and socially, Autistic students need thoughtfully designed education settings with high expectations for every student, together with individualistic care from teachers.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Implications: &lt;/strong&gt;Our findings reinforce how classroom design and education practices must consider the needs of all students for Autistic students to thrive. From a practice perspective, promoting student autonomy around aspects of their educational environment-such as the ability to use headphones in class or provision of spaces in which to retreat to prevent or manage sensory/social overwhelm-could be \"quick wins\" for schools wanting to foster safer, more secure settings for Autistic learners. Broadly, educators should aim to embed as much certainty as possible into Autistic students' educational environments to lay a solid foundation for learning. This foundation is likely to be most effective when educators are partners in discovery with each individual Autistic student, seeking to understand their unique strengths, needs, personalities and identities, and build trusting student-teacher relationships. While our research examined the perspectives of a diverse range of Autistic students, future research should attempt to elicit the educational experiences of both younger Autistic child","PeriodicalId":36716,"journal":{"name":"Autism and Developmental Language Impairments","volume":"10 ","pages":"23969415251377973"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12535640/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145337747","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Feasibility and Preliminary Effectiveness of the Arabic Version of the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (Peers-AA) for Autistic Adolescents in Saudi Arabia.","authors":"Afnan A AlMarshedi, Marwah Ahmad Behisi, Hussain Mohammed Al-Taweel, Tamer Mohammed Albasuony, Saad Mohammed Almuqrin, Samah Hazem Alkhawashki, Aqeel Talal Alkhiri, Saleh Mohammed Alsalehi, Fatimah Abdulrahman Alhaidar, Yasser Ad-Dab'bagh, Elizabeth Ann Laugeson","doi":"10.1177/23969415251371547","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23969415251371547","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by significant deficits in social skills that impact youths' academic, adaptive, and psychological functioning. Social skills deficits are imperative targets for interventions. This pilot study explored the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of the translated and culturally adapted Arabic version of the UCLA PEERS^® among autistic adolescents (ages 11-17) in Saudi Arabia. The study utilized a quasi-experimental design, collected pre-, post-, and three-month follow-up data, and used focus group discussion and a prospective cohort study with pre- and postintervention assessments. Feasibility was assessed based on subjective methods: recruitment, retention, attendance rate, comprehension of the translated material, and homework completion. Effectiveness was evaluated based on postintervention and three-month follow-up interval changes in scores on three outcome measures: the Social Responsiveness Scale, Second Edition, Child Behavior Checklist, QSQ, and Test of Adolescent Social Skills Knowledge. Written informed consent was obtained from caregivers, and oral assent was obtained from the study participants. These initial findings support the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of the PEERS-AA. The outcomes suggested significant improvement in the subjects' social skills and knowledge of social etiquette, as reported by the adolescents and their parents, with improvements retained at the three-month follow-up. However, there was no reported improvement in the number of get-togethers, which was likely explained by COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and culture-related considerations. This study represents the first cross-cultural validation trial of an established evidence-based social skills intervention for autistic adolescents in an Arabic-speaking country. The PEERS-AA manual's feasibility and preliminary effectiveness indicate its promising applicability for interventions and research. Further research to evaluate the generalizability and long-term effectiveness of the PEERS-AA program is needed.</p>","PeriodicalId":36716,"journal":{"name":"Autism and Developmental Language Impairments","volume":"10 ","pages":"23969415251371547"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12475337/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145186993","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}